Hello, I'm happy to report the second section of Grim Earth is done : D
It's definitely taken me longer than I'd hoped and I am sorry for this. I've learned a few important lessons along the way which should lead to more frequent updates going forward.
The main lesson I learned is ... don't block out the levels!
I'd blocked out all the levels early on, to get an idea of the second section's flow. The idea was to make multiple passes on these levels until they were done. But really, this hindered the game's development big time. I had given myself a whole load of boring looking, unfinished levels to get through before I could release an update : (
Going forward, I'm going to design/create/finish 2-3 levels at a time. This way the game will always be in a releasable state, so updates will be far more frequent and motivation should be easier to maintain.
Here are a couple of screens and the new build/section will be released next week!
Thank you : ) George
Space ... the second frontier!
Hello, here's a quick update on the second chunk of Grim Earth : )
I've mainly been working on the graphics. Spaceships are tricky, there's a lot of straight edges so it's easy to make them look boring!
I've got the first pass of the creatures working too. Decided to go with robots ... it is a sci-fi game after all, I just couldn't resist. All their weapons & effects are done and I'm really happy with the code which wraps caterpillar tracks around wheels, it's all self-animating too.
The engine is still behaving itself, just minor fixes. I did spend a couple of days adding 'defines' to the scripting language though. Now I don't have to remember what the generic level variables mean (things like 't250' & 'p10'). I can also define constants, so changing the spike damage from 50% to 35% can be done in one place.
One more screen of some vents ... you've got to have vents in a spaceship : D
So yeah, back to work.
George
20% + 20% = 40%
First, thanks to everyone who purchased Grim Earth on its first week of Early Access, I really appreciate it ... Thank You!
The launch took around three weeks in all, so this has been my first solid week of game dev in a while. I'm pleased (and a little relieved) to say it's gone great : )
I blocked in 23 brand new levels and have just played through the second section of the game. It took me 30 minutes, which isn't bad considering there are no bad guys or hidden areas yet ... and I know how the puzzles work!
The engine is holding up, with no major changes or additions required. A large part of the last two years has been spent continually developing/upgrading the engine/editors ... so it's nice to finally be able to just use them to create.
Next week is all about creatures and location art, so I'll have something new to show then. In the meantime, I've brightened up space (it was a little too blue), added a nebula and scaled up the stars : D
Action Update ... Yeah!
Got to say, I *really* like how easy it is to make updates on Steam : ) This must be my fifth update in the last week, but I thought I'd post about this one as it improves a few 'action' rated items :
Firing while crouching is now more reliable : The spaceman doesn't like firing into walls, but the detection was slightly out and so crouch'n'fire was limited depending on the ground angle.
Boss #3 : He's had several 'play fair' improvements and there's now a safe area to the right during his second stage. Again, this was intermittent, the area wasn't safe if he'd rotated in a certain way on the first stage ... it's the little things!
Aiming accuracy : Most of the game has been re-written at least once since I started it. Today, it was the turn of aiming ... new and improved angle sums : D
Accidental Stop'n'Fire : It takes more of an angle to stop and aim your weapon, so you're less likely to stop by accident (which I only saw in one playthrough). Also improved the crouch with the same logic.
That's it ... thanks to everyone who's made a playthrough video of Grim Earth, it's helped a lot in fine tuning the Early Access build.
The next announcement should be news on the next location ... can't wait!
George : )
What's in the Early Access build?
Hey, as there's no Grim Earth demo I wanted to give an idea of what to expect from the Early Access build. There's a bunch of great playthrough videos on YouTube, but of course I'd recommend that it's best to play it ; )
The initial Early Access build includes the first location in its entirety. This represents roughly 20% of what is planned, and takes on average an hour to play through.
I'm pricing the Early Access at $5 to reflect the current content/length and because I'd really like to you to play it : D
I plan to release each location as it's completed, with the whole game receiving tweaks, updates & balancing as it nears completion. So yeah, there's a lot more story, creatures and locations to come!
Thank you, George
Grim Earth's first update!
Hey, I've just released the first Grim Earth update.
The main difference is the CRT effects (scan lines and noise) now default to off. This makes the footage when streaming/recording a lot clearer.
I've also made it so your health doesn't regenerate by itself as seen in some early gameplay footage. This makes collecting health packs *far* more enjoyable.
The trailer and screens have also been updated using the Early Access levels/graphics, hope you like them!
It's just a week till release ːsteamhappyː
George
Early Access is Done :D
Okay, so the game's taken a lot longer than I'd hoped, but the first section is done and it'll be available on Steam any day now ... some six months after the release date!
Most of the delay has been down to me improving the engine, making it easier for me to produce new content/levels going forwards. Each time I'd settle down to finish the game, I'd find a bunch of better ways of doing things, which would lead to a ton of coding.
For the last month however, it's been just little changes to the code base, with all the effort going into the game itself ... so I'm pretty confident that it's time to release the Early Access build ːsteamhappyː
Some new screens ... I couldn't resist adding some old-time CRT effects!
George
